


a bird in the hand (is worth two nosy ones in the bush)

by OceanMyth



Series: Ocean's ATLA Drabbles, Oneshots, and Ficlets [17]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Sokka is a nerd, feat. Toph Beifong, the continued adventures of Sokka having to watch Aang and Katara pine, toph's seismic sense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:42:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27618545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OceanMyth/pseuds/OceanMyth
Summary: In which the Gaang attend a garden party in Ba Sing Se in order to get a meeting with the Earth King, Sokka is running anexperimentand Toph is curious. Also all of their friends are tired of the pining between Aang and Katara.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Toph Beifong/Sokka (onesided)
Series: Ocean's ATLA Drabbles, Oneshots, and Ficlets [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2113209
Comments: 12
Kudos: 51





	a bird in the hand (is worth two nosy ones in the bush)

Toph looks down into the hedges that line the garden. 

They're at some fancy outdoor garden-gala-shindig, hoping to find a way to talk to the Earth King. So far they’ve had no luck, but Sokka had disappeared about ten minutes into the party, so Toph had decided to break off from Aang and Katara to go look for him. Mainly because neither of them were interested in trading snarky comments about the nearby dignitaries, but also because being alone with Aang and Katara is kind of the worst, especially since Katara had gotten all dressed up for the event.

It hadn't taken her long to find Sokka, but she hadn't been expecting to find him in the hedge. She pulls back the twigs and leaves, knowing that sighted people prefer to be able to see who they are talking to. She's not trying to scare him after all.

"What are you doing Sokka?"

" _ Shh! _ You're gonna mess up the experiment!" he hisses. Sokka's heartbeat races wildly, and his voice shakes with excitement and that strange fervor he gets when doing something 'sciencey', and she's now both curious and slightly wary of whatever he's doing in the bush. Last time he experimented with something sciencey—it was an invention for the invasion or something—he'd wound up blowing up the back half of the house.

Toph frowns, about to ask Sokka to explain what he means— how can he be doing an experiment in the middle of a garden party? Doesn’t he need his science-gear for that? Then he grabs her arm and pulls her into the bush with him, and her words are gone. He’s pressed behind her, and his breath tickles the back of her neck. Toph is suddenly very glad that her bangs cover her cheeks. He reaches over her shoulder and points out into the party, rustling the branches and leaves of the hedge as he does.  
  
“Do you see that?” he says, jabbing the air triumphantly. Toph closes her eyes. She wishes she could close her ears too.

“No Sokka, I can’t see anything. I’m  _ blind _ ,” she pauses a moment, considers, and then punches him in the shoulder. “Idiot.”

“Ouch—okay, yeah I deserved that one,” he says, tapping a finger against his chin. Toph feels his pensive sigh through the ground and knows he’s frowning. 

“Right… Can you feel Aang and Katara out there?” This time he doesn’t point, but instead just wiggles his hand in the direction of the party. Toph narrows her eyes, and sorts through all the footsteps and heartbeats she can feel, looking for Aang’s distinct lightness. 

Everyone has different heartbeats, footsteps, and body language—different patterns they drum into the earth by living. But there are so many people here that it will still take her a second to sort through them, match them to their owners, and find her friends. Which is why Toph actively looks for Aang instead of trying to sort and pick through every person there.

Aang doesn’t move like anyone else Toph has ever met. He’s light and agile, shifts and moves subconsciously, like he’s always ready to run. Aang is more bird than human in his movements, and that makes him hard to see. He’s a ghost in a room full of people, a fanciful shade that leaves nothing behind but the faint sound of laughter. By all rights, this should make him harder to find, not easier— but that’s the trick. 

Toph  _ doesn’t _ look for Aang, not really. She looks for the space where there should be a person. Toph always finds Aang in the negative space between. Where there is a gap in the swarms of people, in the quiet place devoid of heavy footsteps and loud heartbeats. He’s always there in that stillness.

It doesn’t take Toph long to find Aang, and Katara is there next to him. They aren’t too far from the shrub— Sokka probably has a direct line of sight when there aren’t people in the way. She nods, and Sokka’s heartbeat picks up again, and he is most definitely smiling like a madman.

“Okay, tell me what they’re doing,” Sokka says, and he sounds just a smidge too triumphant. Toph wrinkles her nose.

“Why? You know as well as I do that they’re chatting with dignitaries, trying to get an audience with the Earth King. Seeing if anyone has connections that could help us find Appa. Sucking up to people. Boring stuff,” she answers, ignoring the painful lurch in her gut when she mentions Appa.

“Yes, yes, I know what they are supposedly doing,” Sokka shoots back impatiently, “but look at what they are  _ doing _ . They’re doing it more obviously now that you’re over here with me, but— Look!”

Toph finally understands what he was talking about. It’s not what Aang and Katara are doing with the parts of their body language that are intended for sighted-people to pick up— they are smiling attentively, and their posture seems interested. It’s the not-so-obvious stuff that Sokka’s talking about, the way they seem to lean into one another, the way Aang’s heart rate skyrockets when Katara tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. The stuff that made her leave in disgust and look for Sokka in the first place.

“Yeah, so? They’ve been doing that for ages Snoozles. Are you just noticing that?” she asks. Sokka huffs, and shakes his head.   
  


“I’m not talking about the normal mushy stuff they’re doing— I’ve seen the longing gazes they send one another when they think nobody's looking-” Toph is suddenly very glad she can’t see “- I know what’s going on. I’m talking about the hands. That’s new.”

Toph narrows her eyes, and focuses on Aang and Katara again.

Oh.

Huh.

That is indeed new. 

Aang and Katara are standing close together, and while they aren’t really touching one another, the backs of their hands brush from time to time. Whenever it happens, Katara tugs her hand a little further away, and Aang’s fingers twitch like he wants to reach out and hold Katara’s hand.

  
  
“ _Bleh_. That’s sickening,” Toph says, and Sokka nods. “How is watching this gross display an experiment though?” she asks. Sokka scratches his head sheepishly.

“Well, if you watch carefully, Katara moves her hand less every time. And, well, this isn’t the first gathering we’ve attended where they’ve done this, and they normally wind up holding hands by the end of the party. I’m trying to collect data on how long it takes for Katara to give in, and hold Aang’s hand, because that’s clearly what she wants to do. I need data because I’m tired of  _ this _ ” Sokka flaps his hands at the gross scene in front of them,  _ “ _ and am putting together a presentation of all the reasons she should get over herself and go out with Aang.” 

Toph blinks.

  
  
“A presentation? And aren’t big brothers supposed to… I don’t know… _stop_ their younger sisters from going out with boys?” She’s not really sure she heard Sokka right.

“Presentations are an organized way to convey your results to a live audience! Of course I’m going to use a presentation. I have charts and graphs and everything!” Sokka sounds far too invested into this presentation— Toph makes a mental note to either find something to do away from the house on the morning of the presentation, or to figure out when Sokka’s planning on giving it to Katara, so she can bring snacks.

When Sokka starts speaking again, he sounds wistful.

“I’m sure most older brothers stop their younger sisters from dating. But Katara and I… we’ve only had each other and Gran-gran for so long now. I’m not going to deny her happiness, no matter  _ who _ or  _ what _ brings it to her. She deserves it,” he says, and Toph can hear layers of things left unsaid in his voice, but she’s not going to pry.

“Besides, if I’m the one to get them together, they’ll have to listen to me when I tell them they’re being all gross and  _ oogie _ .”

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in about an hour. What witchery was this?
> 
> come find me on tumblr @justoceanmyth. i'm friendly i promise.


End file.
